Nintendo’s victory lap of next-gen updates for its existing blockbusters continues, just in time for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, with Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park. It’s quite the mouthful of an official title, but luckily, the update is worth (most of) its weight in gold.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder was already an outstanding game in its own right and made the jump to the Nintendo Switch 2 admirably as is. But a little spit-shine never hurts, and the new bells and whistles added to the latest “mainline” Mario game elevate the whole experience.
The Switch 2 Edition revolves around the titular Bellabel Park, a new location in the Flower Kingdom that’s one part base camp, and part multiplayer theme park. At special tents scattered through each world of the main game, players can encounter Captain Toad and embark on a subplot to subdue the Koopalings, who have stolen Bellabel Park’s precious bell flowers.
There’s a new boss stage in Super Mario Bros. Wonder for each of Bowser’s original henchmen, where they activate some zany new Wonder powers—like Wendy’s transformation into a giant Cheep Cheep. Each stage is a fun little diversion from the main path, helping to diversify and enrich the base game’s supply of boss fights.
“Combined with the ability to use Assist Mode with any character—not just Yoshi and Nabbit—Super Mario Bros. Wonder is now an even better fit for a family game night.”
If you’ve already cleared the game before the update, this turns the Koopalings into a pretty quick gauntlet of boss battles. However, when playing from scratch or from an incomplete save, the core Super Mario Bros. Wonder experience benefits from these detours. The vanilla roster of boss fights was a little underwhelming before, and the Koopalings are more stimulating opponents. (If you’re still looking for a challenge, check the Training Courses after you’ve beaten all the Koopalings.)
Granted, the new powerup catered specifically to Bellabel Park, the Super Flower, makes these fights markedly easier. Not only does this new suit make the heroes look like the Flower Kingdom’s Popplin inhabitants, it grants the ability to throw flowers that ascend straight up, and perform a brief hover/flutter-jump. I underestimated this suit somewhat until I actually got my hands on it, and saw it counter a lot of threats in the new levels.
Also new in Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘s Nintendo Switch 2 update is Rosalina, who joins the main playable roster. Exciting as that is, she doesn’t feel quite as unique as she could have, since Wonder negates characters’ special abilities from previous games. The Super Flower’s floatiness pairs naturally with what I expected her to be—but I’m just satisfied having her absence corrected this time around.
With Rosalina comes her faithful Luma companion, who is also playable in a limited context as “Co-Star Luma” when two players or more are playing together. This Luma functions somewhat like the Assist characters did, unable to take damage but able to grab coins or take out enemies. Combined with the ability to use Assist Mode with any character—not just Yoshi and Nabbit—Super Mario Bros. Wonder is now an even better fit for a family game night.
“Speaking of multiplayer, it’s here where Super Mario Bros. Wonder truly comes alive on Nintendo Switch 2.”
It feels like Nintendo truly seized the opportunity to fix some of the complaints about the base game, like the badges. A series of new Dual Badges combine the effects of two different badges into one, like wall jumps and grappling, meaning players can now benefit from two complementary buffs at once. I have to appreciate that they’re fixing these things, but it’s a bit of a shame the tweaks are hidden behind a next-gen paywall.
The heftier portion of the Switch 2 Edition’s regular content lies in the Toad Brigade Training Camp, part of the Bellabel Park campsite. These bite-size stages unlock as you progress through the game, offering a series of unique challenges to hone your platforming skills. This mode could have seemed somewhat derivative, but the sample of courses is diverse and balanced enough to keep it fresh. In particular, a series of courses that require sprinting through a level without grabbing any coins is a diabolical, but fun, twist, challenging decades of Super Mario Bros. programming.
Completing training courses rewards a new currency that is spent within Bellabel Park to unlock new customizations or features. These range from flowers, which can be used to decorate the park’s various features, to new emotes and instruments for the Popplins’ marching band. Customizing the park is a decent diversion that some younger players will surely enjoy, yet the real star is the chipper ensemble of performers, who can march through the multiplayer portion of the park.
Speaking of multiplayer, it is here where Super Mario Bros. Wonder truly comes alive on Nintendo Switch 2. There is an absolute cavalcade of new activities to be found in the Attractions Plaza, divided into local multiplayer and Game Room play.
Seven stations scattered around the left side of the park host different themed challenges for local play, like competing to feed baby Yoshis, using Joy-Con 2 mouse controls to draw paths for your allies to progress through a course, or playing red-light-green-light with a massive King Boo. Each of these themes has several stages, with increasing difficulty. (Co-op and competitive stages are clearly separated, too, which parents should appreciate.)
Meanwhile, the Game Room Plaza on the right side hosts six attractions, accommodating up to 12 players online or 8 players in local wireless. While these are largely racing or tag-based activities, Super Mario Bros. Wonder makes GameChat feel worthwhile by facilitating connections and letting you chat (or smacktalk) with your friends while competing in classic Mario multiplayer madness.
But this all brings us to the Elephant (Mario) in the room: the price of admission. There’s a good chunk of content here for an instant classic first-party Nintendo game; granted, the game in question is already 2.5-years-old, and many Switch owners will likely have taken it for a spin already. This content also comes with a steep $30 CDN price tag for the Upgrade Pack, for those who already own Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Given that barrier to entry, I think the worthiness of this particular Switch 2 upgrade depends heavily on your circumstances and what you want out of it.
For those who already own the original version, diehard Mario fans should find plenty to enjoy here, though the price may be a tough pill to swallow. If you still break the game out occasionally to play with friends or family, Bellabell Park similarly has plenty to keep you occupied. Yet if you do not fuss with multiplayer, and if Super Mario Bros. Wonder just did not do it for you in the first place, I am not sure a $30 expansion pack is going to sway you.
For those getting into the Switch family of systems for the first time, though, Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s Nintendo Switch 2 Edition should prove a must-play experience. If you have not ventured to the Flower Kingdom before, going straight for the Switch 2 Edition is worth it, especially since you can pick up a used Switch copy and buy the upgrade online to save some cash. The new boss fights and training courses are a worthy addition, especially if you are playing through from the very start, and it now feels like a truly complete package.
